Wednesday, October 17, 2012

All of K&K Test Kitchen's American readers are still over a month away from Thanksgiving, but I can't help but share this recipe for cornbread stuffing now. Part of the reason is that it is delicious and I want you to start thinking about what you're making for Thanksgiving dinner. The second part of the reason is that I haven't been cooking new things lately, though I have been cooking -- I made these cookies again, these stuffed peppers, and my favorite chicken parm recently too. I also ate Canadian Thanksgiving leftovers almost everyday last week for dinner, so all I've got for you (besides the pancakes from earlier this week) are Thanksgiving recipes! This stuffing was completely awesome as leftovers. It has so many complex flavors. It is sweet and savory, with fragrant rosemary, and lots of texture.

Besides eating leftovers, did I tell you that I ate rabbit and duck confit this weekend for the first time ever? It's not that I used to be picky when I was growing up, I just wasn't very adventurous in my eating habits. Now that I'm a food blogger, I have taken a philosophy that I will try just about anything. There's really no reason not to, especially since I've discovered that most of the things I wasn't eating before are actually delicious. Unfortunately, I'm not making duck confit or cooking rabbit often or ever. It's just not in line with the way that I cook and since I'm cooking so much for the blog, I rarely go out to restaurants. However, when I do go out to restaurants, my goal is to eat something that I wouldn't necessarily make at home! So, I went to Murray Street Kitchen in Ottawa and ate duck confit poutine and a little bit of rabbit on Saturday night last weekend - the verdict: YUM! (The rest was amazing too - fancy corndogs, steelhead trout that was perfectly cooked, and 'smores for dessert!)

Bake your cornbread following the recipe that follows. Once it has cooled, cut it into cubes and spread it out on a baking sheet. Cut the baguette into cubes as well and add those to the cornbread. Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and cook the sausage, breaking it into smaller pieces as it cooks. Cook the sausage until it is browned and cooked through. Once the sausage has cooked, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Add the chopped leeks, celery, apple and onions to the pan and cook until the onions are translucent. Pour the white wine into the pan, scraping the bottom, and simmer until it reduces. Next, add the poultry seasoning and rosemary, stir well and cook for another minute.

In a small heavy saucepan cook cranberries with sugar over moderately high heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until some begin to burst.

Preheat at 325° F. In a large bowl, mix together sausage, bread cubes, cranberries, and cooked vegetables. Pour 1 cup of chicken stock over the mixture and stir again. Spread the stuffing mixture into a 9x13 inch glass pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes.

5 comments:

I love the idea of a cornbread stuffing! And I admire your resolution to be open to trying new things .. I'm trying to do the same thing as I've been finding a lot lately that things I thought I hated actually aren't that bad!

I'm kinda really jealous you already got Thanksgiving...! I've been ripping out magazine recipes like crazy for ours. I love your cornbread stuffing! And I love how different it is from what we usually have - traditional french bread, veggies, chicken stock - the cornbread sounds fabulous!

Oh my gosh, I seriously wish I could take the time off work to visit my fam in the US for another Thanksgiving... so I'm jealous of you that you still have it to look forward to! Also, my parents were totally skeptical about this cornbread stuffing and they ended up loving it!